Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin has found himself back in the headlines this week after reports claimed he was unwilling to sign a new deal at St Mary’s.

The Daily Mirror claimed the Saints had offered the French international a deal worth in the region of £50,000-a-week. But the player is said to be reluctant to put pen to paper, with usual suspects Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal again linked as a result.

When you consider the possible wages on offer if he moved on, the story does not come as a great surprise. But what does is the suggestion that this could prompt a swift sale.

Southampton did right to keep hold of Schneiderlin in the summer, despite waving goodbye to a number of other players and with Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino allegedly keen to reunite with the player at White Hart Lane.

The 25-year-old has been crucial in Southampton’s outstanding early form and his absence came at the worst time with Ronald Koeman’s men slipping to defeats against Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United in recent weeks.

But to suggest the player’s failure to sign a new deal could see him leave either in January or next summer does not ring entirely true for one simple reason – Schneiderlin’s current contract runs until the summer of 2017.

That means he has another two-and-a-half years at the club before he is a free agent and any apparent concerns over his failure to sign a new deal thus far can be placed in a file marked ‘over-reaction’.

Schneiderlin could well move on in due course, with Tottenham and Arsenal two clubs who would both benefit from his arrival, but the Saints have him tied down for quite some time yet, and as long as the club are flying high, selling him - new deal or otherwise - is surely the last thing on their mind.

Vincent Ralph

After graduating with a degree in English Literature, Vincent completed a NCTJ-accredited qualification in newspaper and magazine journalism in 2005. Shortly after, in a somewhat leftfield move, he began working at a secondary school in Kent. After eight years – the last four of which were spent as Head of Sixth Form – he began to write full-time, combining his love of football with his passion for the written word.Alongside his work for HITC Sport, he also writes film reviews for HITC Lifestyle… along with the odd music interview when fate allows.